SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 11, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — New unemployment claim totals for the week of May 31 to June 6 of this year show a 9.1% increase over the previous week.
According to information released by the Department of Workforce Services, the number of new claims filed between May 13 and June 6 totalled 5,452. There were 91,148 weekly claims filed during that same week. A total of $25,840,982 was paid in traditional unemployment benefits.
An additional $48,284,790 of the $600 weekly stimulus was paid out to claimants, as well as $1,080,293 in federally funded extended benefit payments, for a total of $75,206,065 in unemployment benefits for the week. A total of 1,674 new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims were submitted.
The number of people who ended their unemployment insurance claim on May 30, 2020, was 6,617. A total of 7,707 ended their claim during the previous week.
As the state continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, this number will help demonstrate the number of people no longer accessing unemployment benefits, the news release said.
“We have again seen, a persistently high number of new and continued claims for unemployment benefits, however, we are also glad to see thousands stop requesting the benefit every week,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, in the prepared statement.
“While the unemployment benefit has provided stability for many Utahns, it is an important reminder that it is also very temporary. We will continue to work towards getting claimants back to work and connected to the stability of employment.”
The three industries that saw the highest percentage of claims this week, as self-identified by the claimant at the time of their filing, were:
- Office and administrative support (14.7%)
- Management occupations (10%)
- Sales and related occupations (8.6%)
The five counties in Utah that had the highest number of people file new unemployment insurance claims were:
- Salt Lake (41%)
- Utah (15%)
- Davis (8.1%)
- Weber (7.8%)
- Washington (3.3%)
Anyone whose employment has been impacted by COVID-19 is encouraged to visit jobs.utah.gov/covid19 for updated information including help for employees and employers returning to work.
